Monday, April 30, 2012

The Same Love {Music Monday}

We just sang this song in church yesterday!

Another one of my favorite Christian artists is Paul Baloche. He is an amazing, humble worship leader from Texas. My husband enjoys his music as a worship pastor, and uses Paul's songs frequently in our worship services. Paul Baloche released a new CD in March, called "The Same Love". I like all of the songs on whole CD, but my favorite song is the title track. I hope you enjoy it too!


Paul Baloche — The Same Love lyrics

You choose the weak and make them strong 
You heal our brokenness inside 
And give us life

The same love that set the captives free
The same love that opened eyes to see
Is calling us all by name
You are calling us all by name
The same God that spread the heavens wide
The same God that was crucified 
Is calling us all by name 
You are calling us all by name

You take the faithless one aside 
And speak the words “You are mine”
You call the cynic and the proud
Come to me now

The same love that set the captives free
The same love that opened eyes to see
Is calling us all by name
You are calling us all by name
The same God that spread the heavens wide
The same God that was crucified 
Is calling us all by name 
You are calling us all by name

Oh oh...

You’re calling You’re calling 
You’re calling us to the cross
(Repeat 4x)

The same love that set the captives free
The same love that opened eyes to see
Is calling us all by name
You are calling us all by name
The same God that spread the heavens wide
The same God that was crucified 
Is calling us all by name 
You are calling us all by name

You’re calling You’re calling 
You’re calling us to the cross
You’re calling You’re calling 
You’re calling us to the cross

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/p/paul_baloche/the_same_love.html


Be sure to check out this amazing video for this song and listen here.


Philippians 2:1-3

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves..."


Isaiah 43:6-7

I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth —
everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. ”

Friday, April 27, 2012

Whole Wheat Waffles {Recipe}

We stayed at my Mom and Dad's house a few summers ago and my Mom made these delicious whole wheat waffles. She printed the recipe for me from Cooks.com and I left it there. Ooops! My wonderful Dad emailed it to me and that is how it is printed in my cookbook!

I doubled the batch, so it made A LOT! We put them in the freezer...
Whole Wheat Waffles (from Cooks.com)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I used regular whole wheat)
1 cup white flour
3 Tbsp sugar


1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
2 cups skim milk (I used vanilla soy milk)
3-4 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used canola)

Sift dry ingredients in bowl. Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine the mixtures, and bake in a waffle iron. Makes 8-10 waffles. Top with butter, syrup, jam, jelly, fruit, powdered sugar, agave nectar, peanut butter or molasses... just not all at the same time! :-D


Making this recipe had me thinking about some of these Bible verses about wheat:

Psalm 81:16
But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”



Matthew 13:24-26 
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

Read this parable explained here.


Let me know if you try this recipe, I'd love to hear your review!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

What I'm studying...

During December of last year, I was thinking of studying the book of Psalms in the new year. I had originally thought I would just read a psalm or a portion of a psalm each day. Then I found a book on the shelf at my parents' home that I decided to borrow. The book is Praying with the Psalms by Eugene Peterson. You may know Eugene Peterson as the author of The Message paraphrase of the Bible.


This is not a new book, it was published in 1993. Each day includes a reading in the Psalms (from your own Bible), a verse from that passage on the page, a short meditation and a prayer. The book is just a mere 4 X 6 inches, but packs a punch for me each day! I enjoy reading the author's simple thoughts on the passage, I only wish the meditation was longer. 

Here is a description of the book:
"The Wisdom of David for a Year of Devotion Prayer is both our most human action and our most human language. But, as with any other language, we may find ourselves clumsy and undisciplined in our attempts at it. Praying With The Psalms can help Christians become fluent in the language of prayer, encouraging us to pray even when we don't feel like it, and to learn prayers that are both honest and right. Based on the life and words of David, the Psalms provide insightful reflections on depression, anger, frustration, fear, and insecurity, as well as joy, exhilaration, triumph, and gladness."
 from CBD

In addition to reading my devotional book and psalm portion each day, I have been enjoying the meditations in my NIV Women of Faith Study Bible. I received this Bible a few years ago on my birthday. A friend had a NIV Study Bible that was literally falling apart. I has seen others using the same Bible and had looked at it in the store and really liked it. My husband bought me the Women of Faith version and it has been very encouraging to me. I like the wider margins and meditations written especially for women.

Besides reading, I also spend time in prayer. One prayer guide that I like is a parents' prayer guide, with 31 Biblical virtues to pray for your kids, one each day of the month. I have posted about this before here. You can find a nice printable version here. They are written by Bob Hostetler, and I actually I have second one that I use (see picture below). It focuses on the character traits of God. I have gotten both copies of these lists in my church foyer, but have also found 31 Days to Praise online here. It is a wonderful way to focus my praise and prayer each day on one attribute of God. Each day contains an attribute and Bible verse to begin. God is worthy of our praise, and is a God of many facets. It is a neat way to worship and adore God each day.

That is what I am studying in my quiet times this year. What are you studying? I'd love to hear about it!

Faithful Blogging Prompt #50:
"How do you read the Bible?  Do you read straight through, follow a Bible reading program, etc?"

http://faithfulbloggers.com/

And last (but not least!) Bible verses that apply...

Psalm 119:108
"Accept, LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws."

Isaiah 26:8
"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."


Psalm 1:1-2
"Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night. "

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Highlights

(Well, almost wordless!)

Yesterday was my 30-something-th birthday... It was a lovely day, got to plant some pansies, a relaxing morning (no teaching!?!) lots of time with my family, a nice lunch out, a few gifts, a short nap. We found out Caleb's baseball game was canceled, so we went shopping instead. There were lots of little sweet "Happy Birthdays" from my kids, greetings from friends and family on Facebook, and calls from extended family that made it an extra special day!
The day began with crepes and strawberries, eaten on the red plate and COFFEE!

 The beautiful bouquet of flowers from my family and church family from Sunday... brightening my kitchen all week!
One of the great gifts that my family gave me... FUN!
And we topped it all off strawberry shortcake for dessert!

Here was a verse of the day:
"If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

ABC Bible verse cards

In our homeschool, we read the Bible each morning. I have a few resources that I use during Bible, (that's another blog post in and of itself!) and we've enjoyed using different things. I have been going through the alphabet with Mallory during Kindergarten this year, so I was delighted that I found not one, but TWO Bible verse printable card sets that go along with the each letter in the alphabet!


The first one is from HomeschoolCreations, who has lots of amazing printables for homeschoolers. You can find her printable cards here. I like them because they are the size of a deck of cards and all about the same size. I may be checking out the Seeds Family Worship too! (which apparently they are a companion to...) I have posted about some printables from Homeschool Creations before, you can find that post here.

The other set is from icanteachmychild.com. I like these because they have simple graphics on them related to the verse. I have not printed these yet, but I really like that I can go back and download them! You can find the cards here.

Here are a few of my favorite Bible verses that relate to training children...
Ephesians 6:4
"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."


Proverbs 22:6 (NASB)
 "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it."

I hope you can use one or the other of these Bible verse card sets. I wish I had found them sooner-- since the set the I made to go along with our Sing the Word CD are not as colorful or laid out as well as these two sets are!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Indescribable {Music Monday}

Some of my favorite Christian musicians are Chris Tomlin and Laura Story. This song that I heard again last week, is not a new song. It was written by Laura Story, recorded by Chris Tomlin, and later recorded by Laura Story. I like both versions of this song. Chris Tomlin has this song, "Indescribable" on his CD called, "Arriving". Here is a post about a Chris Tomlin song that I wrote about a few months ago. I have written about Laura Story's songs before here and here.

I like this song because of the imagery in the lyrics. I was thinking about lilacs and the "fragrance of spring" while listening to this song last week. I appreciate the author's praise of God and His Creation. God truly is One that we are not able to describe! He is too amazing, too awesome, too powerful for our feeble minds to grasp.
"Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin
Songwriters: Jesse Reeves, Laura Story

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing, God

All powerful, untamable
Awestruck we fall to our knees
As we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet, conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing, God

All powerful, untamable
Awestruck we fall to our knees
As we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God
You are amazing, God

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing God

All powerful, untamable
Awestruck we fall to our knees
As we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing, God

Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart
And You love me the same
You are amazing, God
You are amazing, God
http://www.songlyrics.com/chris-tomlin/indescribable-lyrics/

You can read about how Laura Story wrote this song here.

You can listen to Chris Tomlin's version on YouTube here.
You can listen to Laura Story perform this song live here.

I hope you've enjoyed this song. Here are few verses that I found to relate...
Job 38:34-35
“Can you raise your voice to the clouds 
   and cover yourself with a flood of water? 
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? 
   Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?" 



Psalm 19: 1-2
 "The heavens declare the glory of God; 
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 
 Day after day they pour forth speech; 
   night after night they reveal knowledge." 



Do you know our awesome, amazing, indescribable God? I hope you do, and I hope He is present and alive in your life each and every day!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Pirog/ Russian Apple Pie {Recipe}

School was delicious again this past Friday! As part of our curriculum, we studied Russia. One of the recipes in our book was called "Pirog", or Russian Apple Pie. We had all of the ingredients in the house, so we decided to make it!

We found the recipe in this book:

Here are the ingredients:
4 apples
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon margarine

Directions: 
Peel apples, cut into small pieces, set aside. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, and flour. Grease a pie dish with margarine and fill the dish with apples. Pour the egg mixture over the apples. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until apples are golden brown.

 My kids made this simple recipe mostly on their own, since I was occupied with my younger girls. They did a great job! (They are in 7th and 3rd grades)
 Easy and delicious-- in the oven...
A LITTLE *TASTE* OF RUSSIA!
 We enjoyed this dessert, it was light, fluffy, and custard-like. This dish didn't last too long in our house, it was gone in less than 24 hours!
YUM!
Here are a few Bible verses about apples...

Proverbs 7:2
"Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye."



Proverbs 25:11
"Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given."



Let me know if you make this easy, delicious recipe, we'd love to hear your review!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

American Girl class: Samantha week 6

We had another fun American Girl class this past Tuesday, the last class of the semester! Here is a summary of what we did in class...

We made pressed-flower bookmarks, as found in Samantha's Craft Book. For this, I have each girl one piece of white card stock that measured 2 X 6", and one piece of parchment paper that measured 2 X 6" also. Each girl got a piece of red cord that was 8" long, and we had craft glue with sponge brushes to apply the glue. I have been drying flowers and pressing them in a dictionary in my own home for the past three weeks. I couldn't find any pressed flowers in the craft store, and the directions from the above book included how to press flowers. Each girl was given two pressed pansies, and I had several pansies from many years ago too.
 They turned out beautiful and the girls liked them! I would change it to be poster board pieces next time, like the book directions were-- because it would've been thicker and not curled so easily.

We also finished our braided rugs. I found good instructions in a book called Pioneer Projects by Bobby Kalman. I found it at our local library. Basically what we did was to tightly wind the braid into a swirl first, and give each girls a needle with thread. We continued winding until the whole braid was around itself. We then stitched the coil with a running stitch through, beginning in the middle and going to the outside. Then we moved over about an inch, and stitched back to the inside, and all the way through to the other side. We kept stitching all the way around until the whole rug was stitched together. I hope everyone was able to complete their rugs! Some girls thought this part was really challenging. I helped as many as I could!
This sweet little gal and I worked together to finish her rug--
it was about the size of a coaster, since she was absent
some this semester!
The 2:00 class...

Working on finishing their rugs...
 Some of my students began these rugs last semester when we discussed Kirsten. Their rugs were pretty large-- about the size of a dinner plate or a little larger. They said they would not let them be a potholder for mom, though. They really wanted to put them with their dolls! :-D

For snack we had sugar cookies, you can find the recipe here.

I also printed paper dolls for the girls, in case we had extra time. You can find the doll printable here. We used the Young Girl doll at the bottom of the page. I printed the clothes too. I think there was only one set of clothes.

A few of my favorite verses about flowers:
Isaiah 40:8
"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”



Luke 12:27
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."



It was wonderful class studying Addy and Samantha this past semester! I am going to miss the girls in my class and pray for God to be with them all summer! I hope many girls will join again in the fall to learn about the American Girls Kit and Rebecca!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Spring baseball!

(Well, almost wordless!)

ALL READY FOR HIS FIRST GAME!
My son began his Spring baseball league this past week. We've been practicing for several weeks and they were ready! He is in a new level this year so we are excited to see him perform!

AT BAT

PITCHING




AND HERE'S WHAT SOME OF THE YOUNGER FANS DO...
He enjoys pitching and catching. He usually gets a hit. In this new level, there can be walks, so we have seen lots of walks in his games so far! He has done very well, even had a play at the plate as catcher! After two games, their record is 2-0! A fun way to begin the season! We enjoy watching his games!

Go Gators!


And here is a Bible verse that relates somewhat to baseball that I often think of when they "go home"...

"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."  John 14:2-3

T, U and V weeks {Kindergarten}

We have had a few fun weeks in our homeschool kindergarten lately.

During T week, we talked about trees, telling time, trains and transportation, as well as TEETH! My kindergartner filled out a brushing teeth log for the week and she did pretty well on it. It showed me that we need to work on flossing! You can find the log online here. We did some other dental activities which you can find online here and here. We played a dice game where you rolled a die and placed that many mini-marshmallows on the tooth model. We also counted my teeth (adult) and her teeth (child) and compared the numbers of teeth. My daughter enjoyed making toothpick sculptures too!
 During U week, we talked a lot about UP, UNDER and Umbrellas. One of the UNDER topics that we discussed is UNDER the BIG top! We had discussions about the circus, and even looked at pictures of the big top online! It was lots of fun, and here is my daughter's shape clown, made from triangles and circles, and her handprints for the arms & legs! Cute, huh? (Both the girl and the clown! Hope this clown doesn't scare any children that are wary of clowns... and a few adults!)
 This past week was V week, when we talked a lot about vegetables, violets, vacations, and even valentines! We made a vest, found the states that begin with V, cut veggies out from magazines and glued them onto a placemat. We also discussed and read books about VOLCANOES! My children were delighted when we took to the kitchen once again for a cool science experiment!
 We drug out the old cleaned soda bottle, added warm water, a few drops of dishwashing detergent. We also added a few tablespoons of baking soda and food coloring to make the water, er, uh... lava red.
 When we added a few tablespoons of vinegar, the eruption began!
 It was so neat (well... messy) and exciting! We made it erupt several times and enjoyed watching the chemical reaction occur! Our book said that this is the same chemical reaction that occurs in real volcanoes-- carbon dioxide. The gas bubbles build up in the bottle, forcing the liquid out of the bottle, and down the sides of the "volcano".
You can find some wonderful experiments and ideas for science in this book:
The KIDS' SCIENCE BOOK: CREATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR HANDS-ON FUN, by Robert Hirschfeld and Nancy White.
Some great Bible verses about God's wondrous creation:

  "Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
   your faithfulness to the skies.
 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
   your justice like the great deep.
   You, LORD, preserve both people and animals." 
Psalm 36:5-6

I love the word pictures in this one:

 "His lightning lights up the world;
   the earth sees and trembles.
 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
   before the Lord of all the earth.
 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
   and all peoples see his glory."

Psalm 97:4-6



Monday, April 16, 2012

Why do I blog?/ Music Monday

I heard a sermon yesterday that made me think a lot about why I do what I do. One of the things that I thought about as our pastor spoke was my blog. He said, "The world needs less of you, and more of God." It has always been my desire to share God, His wonders, His creation and His "Amazing Grace" with others through my blog. I know that some days I do not do that. I know I show myself off, hoping for positive strokes from others that I am great. But I know that is not what God desires for me to share. I want to let everyone know GOD is great, and I desire to show HIM off!

Our Pastor in His message shared about Judges 3:31, about a little known judge named Shamgar. I'm sure I've read the verse before in my years of reading through the Bible, but I didn't remember it. The verse is just 20 words, but is a good reminder that there are no little people and no little places for us to do God's work. In the verses before, there were 8o years of peace, before they were attacked by the Philistines. We may go through many trials and struggles, with enemies of our own to fight. But God helps us through our struggles and trials and does not leave us on our own. Psalm 46:1 says, "God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble."

Judges 5: 6-7 also mentions Shamgar, as Deborah talks of him in her song. She speaks of the tough times and how roads were abandoned in Shamgar's days. We may have days in our lives when we feel abandoned too. But when we struggle and have "no other place to go", we can always go to Jesus. God can also use us wherever we are. That is the part that spoke to me about my blog. I am at home often, with homeschooling, and I do teach a class of girls outside my home. But mostly I am home, teaching my own children, and sharing with others what we have learned and done. I know that God can use my where I am, today! If God can use Shamgar with his stick, or oxgoad to do His work, I know He can use me! We don't need fancy things such as degrees or nice homes, or the best technology, we just need to use what we have. I can do that-- I have a blog, and I can use it for God and His glory!

In the Parable of the Talents, in Matthew 25: 14-30, Jesus talks of the servants who used the gifts that their master gave them. The master says, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things..." I feel like my blog is a little thing, in my own little corner of the world, but I know God can use it if I dedicate it to Him and am faithful to Him!

So I will be searching the Bible and trying to make my blog more relevant to sharing Christ and His WORD. (P.S. I blog mostly when my kids are in bed and post it in advance, so as to not neglect them.)


Here is my song of the day that I will leave you with, it reminds me of our missionaries from church. I know I can be a missionary in my own home!

Find Us Faithful by Steve Green

We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road
And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives

CHORUS:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

REPEAT CHORUS

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful 



You can listen to this song on YouTube here.
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